KYIV, Ukraine, May 16, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's air force said on Friday it lost another US-made F-16 fighter jet, a significant blow as the aircraft have provided precious help to Ukrainian forces fighting Russia's invasion.

Kyiv has not said how many of the warplanes it has received, but this is at least the second confirmed loss of the Western-supplied jets.

The air force said it lost contact with the F-16 early Friday during a manoeuvre to repel a Russian attack.

"The pilot destroyed three air targets and was working on the fourth, using an aircraft gun" when "an emergency situation arose on board," the air force said.

The pilot ejected safely, the air force said, adding it appointed a commission to investigate.

In August 2024, Kyiv said that an F-16 had crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, killing its pilot.

In April 2025, Russia said it downed an F-16. Ukraine did not confirm, but said pilot Pavlo Ivanov was killed during a combat mission.

This is a setback for Ukraine, which has counted on F-16s to intercept missiles and target Russian warplanes.

Russia has pressed on with its attacks, launching 112 drones overnight, of which 73 were downed and 36 were lost from radar without causing damage.